Piling extractor



Oct. 20, 1970 w. DE WITT FILING EXTRACTOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 WAYNE DeWlTT Filed Feb. 6, 1969 INVENTOR United States Patent 3,534,996 PILING EXTRACTOR Wayne De Witt, 10816 SE. Evergreen St., Vancouver, Wash. 98664 Filed Feb. 6, 1969, Ser. No. 796,992 Int. Cl. B66c 1/00 U.S. Cl. 294102 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A device for releasably gripping the upper end of piling, of different sizes and configurations, while in place and extracting them from their fixed position by conventional power means, as a suitable crane boom, with or without the assistance of vibro or other types of drivers, sometimes necessary to loosen the piling from its bind.

This invention relates generally to gripping and pulling devices and more particularly to devices for the removal of piling, whether of timber or other materials, in place for some time and therefore requiring the application of a substantial pulling force, often with the aid of vibrators to loosen the pile from its bind. Consequently, the extraction of such piling necessitates the use of a firm and powerful, but nevertheless an adjustable and releasable gripping assembly near the top of the piling to do the extraction almost effortlessly.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a pile extractor, easily adaptable for gripping piles of different sizes, shapes and materials, which can be readily slipped over the exposed end of a pile, and by conventional power means, exert a positive and continuous pulling force upon the pile as it is being extracted.

Still another object of the invention is to embody complementary crescent shaped jaw assemblies adapted to accommodate piles of various diameters and shapes, the gripping force of which increases proportional to the resistance offered by the pile during its attempted extraction from its fixed position.

Another object of my invention is to provide a simplified but durable pile extractor which may be easily and inexpensively manufactured and readily serviced and repaired.

Other objects and advantages and the nature and purpose of the invention will become more readily apparent from the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification and revealing a preferred embodiment of the invention.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is an elevational view in perspective and partially broken away to show in working relationship the structural characteristics of the basic elements of the invention;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view of one of the jaw members of the invention, to graphically show the structural features of the semi-circular face thereof;

FIG. 3 is side elevational view, partially in section and partially broken away to reveal more details of construction of the jaw members;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the extractor embodying the invention with the housing lift bracket assembly removed to show the working relationship of the several members of the extractor; and

FIG. 5 is an elevational view, partially in section and partially broken away, with the housing lift bracket assembly removed, to show some of the details of construction of the extractor embodying the invention.

The invention consists of a housing assembly, generally designated by reference character A, consisting of a ice pair of parallelly disposed walls 1 and 2 and a pair of end walls 3 and 4. End walls 3 and 4 are positioned angularly in relation to each other so that the space confined therebetween is gradually reduced from the top toward the bottom thereof. A plurality of spaced stiffening plates 5 and 6 are provided for end walls 3 and 4 respectively, each group of plates being also secured to Walls 1 and 2 for added reinforcement.

Guide bars 7 and 8 extend angularly along the entire length of wall 1 adjacent to end walls 3 and 4 respectively forming raceways 9 and 10. Identical types of guide bars 11 and 12 are formed on wall 2 in coinciding angular relationship to guide bars 7 and 8 respectively. Consequently raceways 13 and 14 are also formed adjacent to end walls 3 and 4 and are in coinciding relation to raceways 9 and 10 respectively. Adequate lubrication is periodically provided in the raceways for reasons which will become obvious from subsequent explanations.

A pair of pile gripping assemblies, generally designated by reference characters B and B are independently mounted opposite each other in the space formed by the four walls of housing assembly A and are slidably positioned in the raceways as hereinafter described. Each gripping assembly possesses the same structural characteristics. Pile gripping assembly B has a plate 16 slidably moveable within raceways 9 and 13 and pile gripping assembly B has a plate 17 slidably moveable within raceways 10 and 14. A pair of wedge-shaped ribs 18 and 19 extend vertically from the sides of plate 16 in spaced parallel relation to each other. Interposed equidistant between them is still another Wedge-shaped rib 20, which also extends vertically from plate 16. An eye or bale 21 is secured to the top of rib 20. A semi-circular shaped pile gripping face 22 is integrally secured to the ribs 18, 19 and 20 and, because of the peripheral linear contour of the ribs in relation to the contour of the space formed by the walls of housing A, face 22 always presents a perpendicular position to a pile regardless of the position to the pile to be extracted. A plurality of beads 23 are parallely spaced and transversely welded on face 22.

Similarly, a pair of wedge-shaped ribs 24 and 25 extend vertically from the sides of plate 17 in spaced parallel relation to each other. Also interposed equidistant between them is another wedge-shaped rib 26, which extends vertically from plate 17. Rib 26 also has an eye or bale 27 secured thereto.

A semi-circular shaped pile gripping face 28 is integrally secured to ribs 24, 25 and 26 and, because of the peripheral linear contour of these ribs in relation to the contour of the spaced formed by the walls of housing A, face 28 also presents a perpendicular position to a pile regardless of the position of the pile to be extracted. Face 28 also has a plurality of beads 29 parallely spaced and transversely welded to it. While the pile gripping assemblies depend largely on pressure provided for the pulling load, the beads 23 and 29 act as teeth and dig into the pile to be extracted, thus aiding the friction developed by these gripping assemblies.

Guide flanges 30 and 31 are secured to the base of plate 16 and identical guide flanges 32 and 33 (not shown) are secured to plate 17, all of which are intended to guide the pile gripping faces 22 and 28 over the pile without damaging them or jamming the plates 16 and 17 in their respective raceways.

Plates 16 and 17 have arcuate shaped cut-outs 34 and 35 respectively to afford better vision to the operator in guiding the pile gripping faces over the piling to be extracted.

A bracket assembly 36 of any desirable configuration is removably secured to housing A, in any well known manner, as by a nut and bolt arrangement 37. Suffice it to say that hook 38 is secured to bracket 36 and its cable 39 leads to a suitable crane boom, not shown, which moves the housing assembly A into position over a piling to be extracted.

In the event it becomes necessary to first agitate the piling before, or during its removal, another type of bracket assembly can be substituted for bracket 36, for example, one which includes a vibro or a Vulcan type of driver of well konwn construction without altering the basic concepts of the invention.

Cable 40, which is secured to eyes or bales of ribs 20 and 26 respectively of gripping assemblies B and B, also leads to the same crane boom, not shown, which moves gripping assemblies B and B independently of housing assembly A. The rigging of cable 39 permits the entire pile extractor to be raised or lowered while the rigging of cable 40 permits only the movement of the gripping assemblies within the housing assembly, although a common crane boom is employed for both types of rigging.

MODUS OPERANDI The movement of pile gripping assemblies B and B is confined by the inclined guide flanges and, because of the inclination of the guide flanges, as the gripping assemblies move downward to grasp a pile they also move closer together and, when they gradually move apart.

In operation, the housing assembly A is guided and centered over the pile to be extracted and then lowered by its rigging from the crane boom. Simultaneously with this operation, the pile gripping assemblies B and B are moved upwardly in the housing assembly A to a wide open position by their separate rigging eminating from the same crane boom. The housing is then slowly lowered over the pile to be extracted so that the pile, fancifully represented in dotted line in FIG. 1, is well within the housing and between the semi-circular faces of the gripping assemblies. These are then released by their rigging and allowed to drop and surround the pile so that the rigging is in relaxed condition.

The rigging for the housing is then actuated to exert a vertical upload on housing assembly A causing the pile gripping assemblies B and B to progressively wedge between the pile and the end wall-s 3 and 4 of housing assembly A and the greater the resistance of the pile against its extraction the stronger proportionately is the bite of the beaded face plates of the gripping assemblies.

The simplicity and advantages of the piling extractor heretofore described undoudbtedly will be clear to those skilled in the art without further detailed description; and while the drawing shows one embodiment of the invention and the salient features thereof, only by way of example, it is quite possible that changes may be made in the details of construction which, nevertheless, will come within the scope of this invention, and therefore I do not wish to limit myself to the disclosure shown and described herein except as specified in the following claims in which:

Iclaim:

1. A pile extractor, comprising a housing including a pair of parallelly disposed side walls and a pair of end walls all integrally connected to each other, said end walls inclined inwardly toward each other thereby form an opening through said housing, the bottom periphery of which is smaller than its top periphery, pairs of inclined raceways formed between said walls, and a pair of pile gripping means slidably positioned in said raceways confined within said housing at each side of the axis of said opening and independently movable relative thereto adapted for firm engagement around a pile received in said housing when a vertical upload is exerted on the housing.

2. The pile extractor set forth in claim 1 in which a beaded semi-circular shaped pile gripping face is pro vided in each pile gripping means and positioned relative to the housing so as to present a perpendicular position relative to a pile to be extracted.

3. The pile extractor set forth in claim 1 in which a beaded semi-circular shaped pile gripping face is provided in each pile gripping means, and a plurality of wedge-shaped ribs secured to the back of each semicircular pile gripping face to reinforce and so position said face relative to the housing as to present the face in a perpendicular position relative to a pile to be extracted.

4. A pile extractor, comprising a housing including a pair of parallelly disposed side walls and a pair of end walls all integrally connected to each other, said end walls inclined inwardly toward each other to thereby form an opening through said housing, the bottom periphery of which is smaller than its top periphery, pairs of inclined raceways formed between said walls, a pair of pile gripping means slidably positioned in said race- Ways confined within said housing at each side of the axis of said opening and independently movable relative thereto adapted for firm engagement around a pile received in said housing when a vertical upload is exerted on the housing, and a bracket assembly secured to said housing for the manipulation of said housing and of the pile gripping means independent of each other.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,221,400 4/1917 Wilhelm et al 294102 1,543,123 6/1925 Renari. 2,559,223 7/1951 Murray 294-102 ANDRES H. NIELSEN, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 24-2635 

